"Blacken the sky Can't stand to see the sun The truth of light Reveals the hatred that has won" – I Saw The End by Pallbearer

Monthly Archives: August 2018

Hailing from Indonesia comes death metal new comers Blaze Infernal, and hauling up from the crypts with them is their three track demo. This demo begins with an intro appropriately titled The Beginning, which is riddled with heavy unsettling breathing for one and a half minutes before fading in to darkness to give way to the remaining two tracks. Once The Beginning fades, Gods Amongst Men begins kicking this demo in to high furious gear as it rampages forth at a torrid pace bringing you disease riddled death metal. This track is a lengthy one as it tops over seven minutes, and for these seven minutes Blaze Infernal balances the track very well. You aren’t treated to a complete skull blasting affair within all seven minutes, nor are you treated to mid tempo rumblings as Blaze Infernal balances the two tempos well to provide you with a well rounded and well crafted lengthy death metal track.

The third and final track to appear within this wretched beast is titled To The Void…(Godless is Truth). This over four minute track is more like the aforementioned death rampage. Filled with slashing riffs and ever bone cracking drumming with unearthly growls to fill the bloodied void, To The Void is a sinister and caustic track. This ripper is just that as it tears in to your skin, sinking its fangs in to your flesh letting you of your ever crimson blood. This track rears is ugly head baring its sharpened teeth awaiting your flesh. This is a fast head banger of an offering that gets your spine twisting in a hurry.

Both of the full tracks within this demo are malevolent and sinister, just one has a little more diversity and variety within it. As a whole, this is a solid demo as Blaze Infernal provides you with two solid death metal tracks one right after another. As short as this demo is on tracks alone, it more than makes up for in run time and content. This is a good start for these new death dealers.

For over a decade Cemetery Urn has been ushering manifesto’s of pure destruction and malevolence and with the appearance of their new offering of grisly murder Barbaric Retribution, that statement remains true still. Nine tracks of undulating horror and depravity lurk beneath the cover of this record, waiting to provide you with murderous and malignant death metal. Each track is a flesh ripping and bone gnashing offering that aims to gut and rip the life from your chest. From beginning to end, Cemetery Urn present you with a savage and grisly sound that picks you apart minute to minute leaving you lifeless in a mold infested grave.

It doesn’t take long before Cemetery Urn greet you with their coveted bleeding raw and hellish sound as they storm through the crypts with their opener Victim Defiled immediately. Victim Defiled is a bloodied and blood crazed offering that brandishes a rotted and foul stench that makes your skin peel and your organs bleed. This first cut is a nasty one as it blasts away chipping away at your skull only to expose your spongy brain for pure evisceration. From Victim Defiled onward, you are treated to eight more tracks that play much the same way. Each track that fills this record is a barbaric and bloodied ode to death that rampages forth stopping at nothing until graves have been dug and mutilated and defiled remains have filled them.

Barbaric Retribution is a sickening and perverse release as it offers up nine malevolent and malignant tracks riddled with disease and death. Each of the nine tracks is a neck twisting and skin shredding offering that doesn’t provide you with so much as a breather. Cemetery Urn churns out track after track of grave desecrating death suffocating you under pure rotten viscera and entrails. Each track is just as morbid and relentless as the last as they charge forth with every intention of slashing your throat and splaying your flesh. Barbaric Retribution is wicked and murderous as it ushers forth nine tracks of disgust and reeking putrefaction.

This is pure rotten death and nothing but. Relentless in nature, malevolent, disgusting, twisted and purely rotten, that is death metal and that is what this record is about. This flesh carving release is as blunt force and brutal as they come, and if you are looking for some top notch face smashing death metal, you don’t have to look much further.

Burning Ad Infinitum is like staring in to the maw of the void as it gnashes its gnarled and bloodied teeth, waiting to sink deep in to your psyche and flesh. This genre bending madhouse of a record brought to you by the ever twisted minds of Gnaw Their Tongues and Crowhurst, warps your mind and twists it in ways you never though imaginable. This nightmarish four track offering is a trek through never ending reeling darkness. This is not a split, this is a collaboration as Gnaw Their Tongues and Crowhurst mesh their own unique sounds together to present you with something wholly unique and never to be heard else where in this world.

This release is its own unique behemoth as Gnaw Their Tongues and Crowhurst weave their two wonderfully mind altering and chaotic styles together to create something that is nightmare inducing yet wholly addictive. Burning Ad Infinitum is a harsh and punishing release from beginning to end as it provides you with four lengthy dirges of psychotic mind breaking noise until the final metallic note has shot through the halls of madness. Riddled with influences from black metal, drone, doom, industrial and more, Gnaw Their Tongues and Crowhurst creates a sound unlike any other.

Sooner rather than later you get sucked in to the void and the more and longer that you listen the longer you want to stay and see what this release has to offer. Through only four tracks you are greeted to harsh and punishing noises that both creep up out of the abyss and startlingly grab you by the throat. Through industrial noises and through harsh sickening screams, these two bands present you with something that is truly terrifying and skin crawling. Each second of this offering is filled with sounds that are hellish and gruesome making you feel as though you are trapped within the mind of the insane.

This mind eating, ever contorting release is truly something to behold as it really is a monster all its own. There isn’t anything else out there like this as both Crowhurst and Gnaw Their Tongues inject their own creative stylings in to this offering to make it something that stands out prominently among the crowd. This is a dark, ever lurching and churning release that is just as addictive as it is unsettling.

Burning Ad Infinitum will be released August 31, 2018 through Crown and Throne Ltd.

Flying the thrash banner high and proud come Norway’s own Psykopath. Their three track EP titled Primal Instinct marks their very first official release, and what a release it is. With only three tracks to its name, Primal Instinct packs a massive punch. This EP is a no holds barred thrash madhouse from beginning to end as it dishes out three finely tuned thrash tracks that are hell bent on twisting your neck. Psykopath don’t wait around to get you acquainted with their pure face melting sound as they storm out of the gates with intensity with Lethal Introspect. This track immediately hits you in the jaw, and then again and again for three and a half minutes making you feel as though you have already weathered a massive storm.

The remaining two tracks that follow Lethal Introspect are much the same. They are no holds barred thrash attacks that are pointed, furious and down right head caving. Through their three tracks, Psykopath doesn’t let up as they mash the proverbial pedal through the floor taking you on a neck snapping ride. Never are you gifted with a moment of reprieve as Psykopath roll from one track right to the next providing you with an overall suffocating thrash storm. Each of the three tracks that are present here are face shredding and skin melting offerings that get your head banging before you know it.

Each of the three tracks are tightly woven together tracks that present you with razor sharp riffs and ever blasting drumming only to be fronted by hellish screamed vocals. As a whole, Primal Instinct is an intense release, one that hits you fast, hard and repeatedly until you are left unconsious. Each track is a blitzkrieg of thrashing madness that hits you square between the eyes, never giving you a moments rest from the ever relentless assault. Overall, Primal Instinct is a great EP as it provides you with three very solid and very well executed tracks that are just as addicting as they are heavy and skull bursting. For their very first official release, Psykopath has knocked it out of the park.

Flying the flag of their very own “devil metal punk” genre, Bonehunter unleash chaos and pure madness through their third full length titled Children of the Atom. This ten track release is a savage and rampaging one that takes what Bonehunter did best in their first two releases to create an unholy and overall triumphant release. Children of the Atom is a devilishly crafted offering that aims to smear you across the pavement before you know what happened. From beginning to end, Children of the Atom is a neck breaking, vertebrae inverting sonic assault that mashes the pedal through the floor never to relent until you are nothing but remnants of what you once were.

Children of the Atom begins with Initiate the Sequence, a one minute intro that quite literally is the only reprieve that you get before the pure blackened onslaught begins. Right after Initiate the Sequence fades in to the never ending abyss, Children of the Atom really kicks off for the remaining nine tracks never to stop its torrid pace until the final gnarled note has rang out through the halls of hell. The nine tracks that follow the opening track are chaotic and blasphemous offerings that are riddled with scythe like riffs, ever tumultuous drumming and frantic screamed larynx shredding vocals. Right after Initiate the Sequence you are jettisoned in to the never ending cyclone of terror that is Children of the Atom, and from then on you are treated to nine pure whiplash inducing tracks grind your skull down in to dust.

This is a nuclear assault that rampages forth, tearing everything and everyone apart that dares press play. Each track is a well constructed, unrelenting blitzkrieg that peels your face from your skull and skin from bone. Children of the Atom hits hard, hits often and relentlessly, creating a storm of scalding flesh searing metal that is not to be forgotten. Bonehunter has truly created a sound and style all their own, truly making their “devil metal punk” genre their own. Children of the Atom is unlike anything else as it is its own devilish entity. As brain bruising and chaotic as this release is, it is just as addictive and hard to stop listening to. Children of the Atom is a record to behold as it helps Bonehunter carve their own piece of history and slice in to the heavy metal echelon.

Children of the Atom proves once again that Bonehunter isn’t a band to be trifled with or forgotten. This release is filthy, raw, grimy and just simply incredible. As mentioned above, Bonehunter took what they did best between their two previous releases and combined them to create a cohesive and even more well rounded sound than they had before. Not enough can be said about this offering as this certainly is one of the best records to be released this year and Children of the Atom is not a record to pass up.

Children of the Atom will be released September 28, 2018 through Hells Headbangers.

Check out the track Sex Messiah Android from the upcoming release below!

Hailing from Greece comes Yovel, and up from the underworld with them they come dragging their debut full length record Hɪðəˈtu. This release is a seven chapter offering that dives in to oppressiveness and in general is a record about the path from trauma to triumph. Each of the seven slabs of bubbling black metal within this release are harsh, atmospheric, captivating and as razor sharp as you would like them to be. With almost no time to breathe within each track, Yovel provides you with and entirely engaging, atmospheric and ever buzzing assault that captures your mind and takes it through the ever winding record that Yovel presents.

The first track within Hɪðəˈtu is titled Trauma, which is a two and half minute instrumental is filled with spoken word and picked guitar hymns, ultimately setting you up for the sonic assault that you are about to witness. Once Trauma fades back in to obscurity, Hɪðəˈtu really starts as Yovel ushers you in to their madness with dissonant riffs and ever raspy hellish growls. Hɪðəˈtu as a whole is dark and twisting record, one that takes you down harrowing corridors through seven tracks.

Each track is a well crafted offering that transition between full blown blackened assaults, and more near serene atmospheric moments that draw your attention in more and more. The balance that Yovel strikes between the two is great as each track provides you with both moments without lurching from one to another. The transitions are smooth, and with both the ever blasting and blaring sonic deafening and the more calm atmospheric moments, Yovel provides you with plenty of diversity through each track and throughout the entire record.

This is a release that certainly can captivate and have your mind wander through the chapters of its story over and over again. There is a lot of content packed within the seven tracks of this release and even so, Yovel execute to a tee. Hɪðəˈtu as a whole is a very solid debut outing for these Greek metal worshippers as each track is concise and never overstay their welcome, they are constructed and sewn together very well, the instrumentation is on point and the raspy steeped in malevolence vocals are strong and menacing. Packed all within forty minutes, you are provided with seven excellent tracks that are hard to deny.

Taking cues from genres like death metal, thrash and even hints of black metal and doom, InnerSphere present Amnesia, their debut full length riddled with ten tracks of ripping metal. Born in the wintery month of December 2015, InnerSphere became active just months later in 2016 to eventually put out a self titled EP in October of that same year. InnerSphere boasts a monstrous yet equally melodic sound that is the culmination of death, thrash and even tinges of black metal and doom. Each of the genres that these Czech monsters have employed for their assault work in cohesion to present to you a full bodied and well rounded sound that is easy to sink your teeth in to and twist your vertebrae to.

Amnesia begins with a prologue titled Proem, which tells you what this record is about. Amnesia is a concept album centered around one man that experiences loss, love, sacrifice and death among other afflictions. Throughout this release these feelings are palpable as InnerSphere weaves their tale very well as Amnesia unfold much like a novel would. One track is a chapter in the story of this man that has suffered loss, experienced purgatory, death, love and sacrifice. Amnesia is a harrowing record, but one that sucks you in keeping you captive until you have listened to the final chapter in the tale that InnerSphere has created. Each track plays well with one another creating an overall cohesive sound and record in general.

As dark and cynical as this release is, it is just as melodic and memorable. Each track is crafted very well with the overall story in mind aimed at taking you on a harrowing and darkened journey. Amnesia is a well strung together record that provides you with ten total tracks that keep you hooked and wanting more of the story to unfold. As Amnesia plays and each track rolls out like a blackened fog, your mind wanders through numerous corridors of darkness ever steeping your mind in madness and pitch black darkness.

From the razor sharp riffs, to the ever charging drums and to the unearthly growls that transition to howls of despair as well as the ever present rumbling bass lines, everything in this record is done very well. Amnesia is an impressive debut record as InnerSphere has incorporated numerous genres in to its overall sound and they have worked in a compelling concept in to this record as well. Through and through, Amnesia is a good record, one that you can keep coming back to and enjoy over and over again.

Combining the likes of death metal and beatdown, Mereflesh bring a whopping dosage of heavy with their new EP The Nightmare Begins. These Aussie’s bring a great balance of beatdown and death metal to their sound making it cohesive and ultimately spine rattling heavy. Each of the four tracks that are present within this release is a rumbling force to be reckoned with. Once one track fades, another begins, hammering away at your skull until it cracks it straight open. The Nightmare Begins is a true beating within only four tracks as you become subject to pure punishment from beginning to end.

Mereflesh bring the pain with crushing riffs and ever pummeling drumming that hits you square in the chest until it bursts open revealing your entrails. The Nightmare Begins is a tough, no holds barred release that has a pure disdain for human life and pure disregard for the listener, making this to be a pure unforgiving assault. The combination of death metal and beatdown here is a good one as Mereflesh balance the two to create an overall anvil heavy and relentless release that pummels you in to the earth. There is no reprieve and there are no breaks between tracks as Mereflesh rumbles along from track to track subjecting you to a thorough beating.

From the drop of the first note and from the rumbling of the first throat shredding vocal, Mereflesh make their hatred for mankind very well known and that theme runs throughout. Through hate filled lyrics and an overall punishing sonic assault, Mereflesh has created something here with their debut that is purely punishing and ultimately anvil heavy. The Nightmare Begins is an unforgiving, face smashing release through and through, as well as a good stepping stone for Mereflesh as a new band. This is a solid four track EP overall that provides you with ever skull bashing tracks that you can bash your brain to over and over again to.

This is a heavy offering that balances death metal and beatdown well enough to be able to please the ears of fans of both genres.

Inspired by their death metal forefathers yet keeping their overall sounds new and fresh, Infuriate dish out an incredibly punishing and flesh shredding offering with their upcoming self titled release. Packed with nine tracks, this self titled release is something to behold. From beginning to end you become bled dry and eviscerated as Infuriate rumbles along from track to bloody track never to stop until the marrow has completely drained from your bones. This is a suffocating offering of death as you become subjected to nothing but terrorizing death. There are no fillers, no frills and no fluff within this record as Infuriate rips and shreds through your flesh one track after another.

Nothing can prepare you for the savage and barbaric onslaught of Infuriate as they immediately set in with their opening track Juggernaut of Pestilence. Once you press play, you very quickly and violently get a taste of the pure rotten death that Infuriate has to offer. Juggernaut of Pestilence is an unrelenting and ever pressing offering that hits you square in the chest and continues to do so until your chest has split. This two and a half minute track is a pure blistering ode to death and sets you up perfectly for what is left to come in the remaining eight tracks.

From Juggernaut of Pestilence onward you come face to face with eight grisly, terrorizing and bloodied tracks that aim to rip you to shreds and lower you in a shallow damp grave. Each track on this self titled slab of gruesome death is a ceaseless juggernaut of flesh craving terror. As one track ends, the next slaughtering begins, suffocating you under droves of pale, horrifying death. There is not rest and there certainly isn’t any reprieve from the utter eviscerating power of Infuriate. This self titled release is a monstrous and barbaric effort that gives little regard to life and guts and maims anyone who hits that play button.

This self titled debut full length is a malevolent and malicious record, one that delivers crushing blow after crushing blow only to leave you lifeless at the end of it all. Infuriate has created something here that is unforgiving, yet as addicting as it is gutting. This is punishing, rotten death metal done to a fucking tee. This is an outstanding, well crafted, well executed offering of pure eviscerating death that stands among my other favored death metal records so far this year.

This record will be released August 31, 2018 through Everlasting Spew Records.

Seething underneath the undulating darkness that is black metal are touches of death metal throughout Loputon Suo’s new offering Portti uuteen. Through four tracks you are greeted with sinister tones, darkened atmospheres and a pure blistering listen that is sure to creep your mind back in to the darkest of recesses. After the ominous and atmospheric intro Polku, Loputon Suo set you off properly through darkened corridors with Ääni Jään Alta, a proper rampaging opener that sets you up for the sonic torment that is to come. Ääni Jään Alta much like the two tracks that follow it is a wonderful mix of black and death metal, providing you with a proper atmospheric quality as well as a pure neck twisting sound.

The four tracks that are harbored within Portii uuteen are dark and sinister. They forever twist and tighten their grip around your neck, seeping their venom into your mind as you listen over and over again. Within this release, Loputon Suo find the right balance through four tracks with their assault of blackened death metal. They combine both genres together well to create an overall unholy and flesh searing sound that is hard to forget.

As one track fades in to the never ending darkness of the abyss, another begins to rain its malevolent intent down upon you. Through and through, Loputon Suo has created something here that is wholly devilish and poisonous. Each track is a memorable offering that provides you with undulating bass lines, forever charging drums, scythe like riffs and vocals that occasionally transition between unearthly growls and banshee like screeches. The three full tracks that follow the intro Polku are malevolent as they gift you with bleak atmospheres and completely ripping blackened metal.

Portti uuteen impresses with only four tracks as it is a cohesive and well put together effort that fully displays what Loputon Suo is capable of. This is a very solid release overall that is sure to please the ears of many.